Cover image for Deep delta justice : a black teen, his lawyer, and their groundbreaking battle for civil rights in the South
Deep delta justice : a black teen, his lawyer, and their groundbreaking battle for civil rights in the South
Title:
Deep delta justice : a black teen, his lawyer, and their groundbreaking battle for civil rights in the South
ISBN:
9780316435031
Edition:
First edition.
Physical Description:
viii, 290 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm
Personal Subject:
Summary:
The "arresting, astonishing history" of one lawyer and his defendant who together achieved a "civil rights milestone" (Justin Driver). In 1966 in a small town in Louisiana, a 19-year-old black man named Gary Duncan pulled his car off the road to stop a fight. Duncan was arrested a few minutes later for the crime of putting his hand on the arm of a white child. Rather than accepting his fate, Duncan found Richard Sobol, a brilliant, 29-year-old lawyer from New York who was the only white attorney at "the most radical law firm" in New Orleans. Against them stood one of the most powerful white supremacists in the South, a man called simply "The Judge." In this powerful work of character-driven history, journalist Matthew Van Meter vividly brings alive how a seemingly minor incident brought massive, systemic change to the criminal justice system. Using first-person interviews, in-depth research and a deep knowledge of the law, Van Meter shows how Gary Duncan's insistence on seeking justice empowered generations of defendants-disproportionately poor and black-to demand fair trials. Duncan v. Louisiana changed American law, but first it changed the lives of those who litigated it.
Holds: